The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, 15 December, cleared a Bill on electoral reforms, including one that provides for the linking of the electoral roll with Aadhaar on a voluntary basis, news agency PTI has learnt.
The Election Commission had previously recommended to the Law Ministry the Aadhaar-linking of the electoral list in order to prevent multiple enrolments of the same individual.
"The Election Commission of India has proposed to link the electoral roll with the Aadhaar ecosystem with a view to curbing the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person at difference places. The matter is under consideration of the Government," the Law Ministry had informed the Lok Sabha in August 2021.
Other Reforms Proposed by the Bill
The electoral reforms Bill passed by the Cabinet on Wednesday intends to make the voting law gender neutral for service voters, PTI reported.
Presently, while an army man’s wife is entitled to be enrolled as a service voter, a woman army officer’s husband is not.
The amendment will be made to the Representation of the People Act.
The proposed Bill will also allow the youth to enrol as voters on four different dates, every year. As per the current provision, only those turning 18 years of age (or higher) on or before January 1 of the year are allowed to register as voters in that year.
The provision for multiple cut-off dates has been pushed to increase the registration of eligible voters.
The Cabinet's approval of the voting reforms comes ahead of Assembly elections in five states – Punjab, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, and Uttarakhand – that are slated to be held in 2022.
(With inputs from PTI)
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